Savant Capital Management Acquires Paragon Advisors
Adds to Strong Chicago Area Footprint
- Paragon’s 130 Illinois families will continue to receive the outstanding financial care they have come to expect with the added benefit of Savant Capital’s infrastructure and Mayo Clinic-style service model.
- Acquisition will increase Savant Capital Management’s AUM to $3.7B and will expand the independent advisor’s presence in the Chicagoland area.
- RIA to RIA acquisition follows the successful Monitor Group combination, and highlights Savant’s ideology-driven approach to Mergers and Acquisitions that focuses on combining with like-minded advisors that are highly aligned from cultural, fiduciary, and philosophical perspective.
ROCKFORD, IL – Savant Capital Management, www.savantcapital.com, one of the nation’s largest independent registered investment advisory firms and headquartered in Rockford, IL, today announced its acquisition of Paragon Advisors, a Naperville, IL based, registered investment advisory firm. This acquisition will bring Savant’s current AUM to $3.7B.
Savant Capital Management’s acquisition of Paragon Advisors will further strengthen Savant’s Chicago-area footprint with the addition of 130 Illinois families. The transition will be made seamless as Gregory De Jong, founding principal of Paragon and two Paragon client service team members will join Savant Capital.
“We said from day one of deploying an M&A strategy that we would only consider the best RIAs,” said Brent Brodeski, CEO of Savant Capital Management. “And Paragon lives up to their name, aligning with us regionally, structurally, philosophically, and culturally. We are proud to welcome Paragon’s team and their clients to the Savant family.”
Savant Capital Management is an opportunistic acquirer, meaning it will only do deals that fit its model near-perfectly and firms that desire to fully integrate and leverage Savant’s best-in-class platform, rather than targeting assets simply for the sake of getting bigger. Savant prefers instead to get better with each new addition to its 100+ employees and looks for advisory firms who either seek an increased growth trajectory or an excellent succession planning solution.
Keys to a successful union include a shared investment philosophy, a true passion for the business and an adherence to the highest standards of service in line with Savant’s own Mayo Clinic philosophy. The Paragon team will leverage the operational efficiencies Savant brings to the table, in key areas like compliance, marketing and technology. Paragon’s clients will also now enjoy the ability to consolidate financial planning, trust services and tax preparation, under one roof.
“Joining forces with Savant allows us to focus on what we do best, which is guiding our clients throughout their financial lives,” said De Jong. “And if we can simultaneously expand our service offering and secure the long-term future of our practice by partnering with a firm of this caliber, we are compelled to do so.”
The deal officially closes December 31, 2013. Savant Capital will continue to be selective in evaluating potential M&A partners, both in the Chicago area, and beyond.